Classic What if
by zebraFinch
Summary: What if in one moment Anakin Skywalker never went to the Dark Side. Would he have been a useful spy? Still the Chosen One? SPOILER WARNING FOR EPISODE 3! PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1

((Hello everyone! I just saw Episode III and LOVED IT! I think it's the best one since the classics. Actually, I've seen the whole one once and the last part twice, due to coughcough ways I don't want to get anyone in trouble about, mainly my 4th block teacher who let a kid bring the download version to school. So, what was y'all's favorite scene in the movie? Mine would have to be the lightsaber fight on the planet (can't remember its name- Mustafo? I know it sounded oddly like Mufasa…) with volcanoes between Obi-Wan and Anakin. Wow, Obi-Wan is actually not misspelled on Word, so it's a word in Microsoft's dictionary…that's weird, but Jedi and Skywalker aren't Overall, the movie was great, but at some parts the actors were not that spectacular. For instance, Natalie Portman did not do a good job on some parts. "You're breaking my heart!" "I know… there's still… good in him…" or "Annie… I'm pregnant". And when Anakin turns into Darth: "NNOOOOOOOOOO!" Of course that may be the script, but…. Anywayz, I'm not here to give reviews, I'm here to give a fan fic! So, on with it!))

**Disclaimer:** Pretty obvious? I hope so…

**Summary:** What if Anakin never chose to go to the Dark Side? What would have happened in the events leading up to the demise of the Emperor? It's much better than it seems. _SPOILER WARNING!_ Please R&R.

_Chapter One:_

A single form continued to pace around the circular room of the Jedi council, hands clasped behind his back. It was Anakin Skywalker, the dubbed "Chosen One". He continued to walk about the room, halting finally by the large window. Clear blue eyes gazed over the scene of the busy airways of Couresant, a deep look of worry and some confusion in them.

Suddenly, he jumped, worry becoming even more apparent. There was a disturbance in the Force, he could feel it. He pondered there for a few moments, then straightened, a look of determination upon features. He drew his cloak around him and strode from the room, coming into a jog as he neared the hanger. He leaped into a spacecraft and headed for the dome building in the distance.

He stopped the speeder and quickly dismounted, taking his lightsaber from his belt and running for the enormous doors that led to the Senate. With a wave of his hand he opened the double sliding doors of the elevator and ran inside, punching in the number of the top floor. He waited impatiently, and when the compartment finally stopped, he ran through the doors and into the Chancellor's office. He immediately halted when he saw the scene unfolding before him.

Mace Windu was towering above a cowering Palapatine, who was shooting Force rays that were like blue lightning from his hands at him. Mace deflected the rays back to the Chancellor with his purple lightsaber, straining to keep a hold on it. From afar Anakin could see Palapatine's face age dramatically, wrinkles becoming more defined and features becoming distorted. His eyes glowed with an unnaturally evil yellow that swayed Anakin somewhat. The chancellor sensed Anakin's presence in the room and shifted his gaze over to meet him.

"I was right Anakin!" he said, "The Jedi are taking over!"

Anakin could see that he was growing steadily weaker with the reflected Force. A sudden feeling of pity rose within him. The old man should not have to suffer. Anger rose towards Mace Windu and the pain he was causing this man, be he innocent or not. And he remembered the Chancellor telling him that he could find away to help Anakin rescue Padme. For the moment, Anakin did not care that he was being selfish, he was thinking of loved ones. That was another reason he wanted the Dark Lord alive. Mace could sense Anakin's misgivings and glanced his way, struggling against the Chancellor.

"Don't listen to him Anakin!" he yelled, slowly gaining the advantage on the weakening Sith Lord. Finally, Palapatine relented and sank back against the wall, breath becoming a rattle. Mace held his lightsaber threateningly above the now contorted man.

Anakin stepped forward.

"He shouldn't have to die!" he retorted, eyes kept upon the Chancellor, "It's not the Jedi way- bring him before the Republic and give him a fair trial." He knew he was being hypocritical, for he had killed Dooku without a second glance. But then someone had been urging him on, namely a Sith, so that was an excuse wasn't it?

"He controls the Senate and the courts," explained Mace Windu, glancing at Anakin, "he's to much of a threat to be kept alive."

"I…" groaned Palapatine, "I'm… to weak to be of threat. Please… mercy."

Mace did not listen, but raised his weapon higher, slowly bringing it above his head. With a flash he started to bring it down to the Sith Lord.

"No!" cried Anakin. He ignited his blue lightsaber and leaped forward, acting purely upon instinct and a driving force upon his mind. In a controlling way it propelled the Jedi forward. He took everything in as if it were slow motion, watching his body acting seemingly on its own without his consent. His hands slashed his lightsaber at Mace, severing his outstretched hand that contained the lightsaber.

He heard a cackle from the Chancellor and backed away in time to see him reach out with the blue lightning he had seen fly from Count Dooku's hands when he battled him. The Force rays electrocuted Mace, causing him to cry out in pain. The rays from Palapatine forced him over the windowsill and to his death below.

Anakin backed away, appalled at what he had done to help the Sith Lord. As he walked back, he felt the interruption in the force a sensitive Jedi always felt when a comrade died. Basically, he had killed Mace Windu. He sank into a chair, shaking and sweating. What had he done? Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Palapatine rise and start to walk towards him, a smirk placed upon features. He seemed almost giddy as he stepped slowly towards Anakin.

Even though this man promised a way to prevent death against loved ones, Anakin started to doubt. How could something like the Dark Side prevent death? He had never heard of a Sith Lord living longer than any normal Jedi- no accounts of immortality among the ones close to them either. And most lied on the Dark Side, so how could he really trust that Palapatine wanted to help him? So many of these thoughts clouded his mind, doubts against him. But the dream a few nights ago wavered in front of his eyes. But couldn't Jedi just have… dreams as well? They were completely human in a way, just had a closer contact with the Force. In all his pondering, Anakin hardly could hear the Chancellor start speaking.

"You have done well, my young Apprentice," he stated, standing above Anakin.

_Apprentice?_ Thought Anakin, _since when did I become his Apprentice?_ Immediately he thought of running, but that was not right, to cowardly. Right then he wanted to be as far from that place as possible. He could not fight him right then, for he was too shaken to give it his best. Should he go along with it, make the Sith Lord think he was obeying him?

His decision was made right then as Palapatine spoke again.

"Your transformation to the Dark Side is almost complete," he said. "Now, embrace this power."

Not really knowing what to do, Anakin kneeled before him, trying not to look the Chancellor in the eye. Conflicting feelings were filling the Jedi, making him uncertain. Definitions between the Dark and Light Side of the Force were clearly defined at the beginning of his training, but now, they were foggy- undefined. He wanted to help Padme, yes, that was the largest impression upon his heart, yet he also wanted to become a powerful and respected Jedi.

The more he thought about it, the more he became confused. One second he was leaning towards agreeing with Palapatine's wishes, the next he wanted to stay as far away from the Sith as possible. Yet, even with those wondering, even more questions started popping into his head. What if the Dark Side was not the only answer? It was never before, if the Archives were correct. They always fell in the classic 'good always triumphs'. Was that totally true? The more he pondered on it, Anakin could not conjure a moment when the Dark Side had proceeded onto greatness without a crushing downfall. It seemed a small voice was whispering this in his ear

The Sith Lord's influence was clouding his mind as Anakin delayed even further. He was clouding his contact with the Force. Whatever shred he could find, he hung onto it, not letting on that he was not going to succumb to Palapatine's influence. Images swam before his eyes- picturing what would happen if he followed his feelings; Padme looked desperate, dreading something- Obi-Wan would be disappointed in his Padawan, an adoptive son.

Once again, Anakin thought he heard a voice. He kept it in his mind, running it over and over again. It was someone- a part of the Force, practically screaming "No! Do not do this Anakin!" Immediately, his memory helped. Could it be? Qui-Gon? How would have the man who rescued him from Tatooine feel about his decision to join the Dark Side to save someone?

Finally, Anakin pictured his mother. The pride in her eyes when she passed away in his arms was something he always remembered. She was proud at his becoming a Jedi. What would she feel if she were alive now? Would he so readily agree to the Sith Lord's wishes to become an Apprentice if she were alive to advise him?

Anakin realized that he must have been pondering way too much, for Palapatine repeated his phrase again, a little louder this time. Anakin knew that he needed to respond in some way. Still trembling from shock and guilt, he raced through words in his mind that would convince the Chancellor that he was on his side. For now, it seemed that he was against joining the Dark Side, but what else could he do?

"Yes Master," was the only reply he could come up with. He said it in an emotionless voice for good measure, trying to steady himself.

"From now on you will be known as Darth...Vader," hissed the Sith.

Anakin made no reply.

"Rise," croaked Palapatine.

Slowly Anakin came to his feet, still not looking the Chancellor directly in the eye. He could still see the permanent smirk upon the Sith Lord's lips. Obviously he thought Anakin was speaking truthfully. All he had to do was not get nervous, for Palapatine would sense it- and that was increasingly getting harder to do.

"The Jedi are your enemies now, Darth Vader," explained the chancellor to Anakin, "We will be rid of them soon enough. For now, follow my orders."

Throat too tight to reply, Anakin nodded at his orders to await the command of "Order 66" and walked out of the room, speeding up as he exited the building. He mounted his speeder and headed off for Padme's apartment, the only place he could think of at the moment. He could hardly see anything in front of him, sweat causing his hair to cling to his forehead.

Besides the shock of the plans, Anakin could only think about what he had done. He had killed Mace Windu. That was the only thing he could think about. True, he had killed before, but those were raged induced and enemies, not close advisors and friends. He could still see the look of hurt and betrayal that was upon Mace's features as he fell to his death.

What was wrong with him? Before, he had been so sure of what to do, but now it was all swirling in the whirlpool that was his mind. Was this the result of letting feelings get in the way? Did he not say before that Jedi were encouraged to love? Three years seemed so distant.

He stopped at the apartment and got off the spacecraft, forgetting to return it to the Jedi Temple. Right now he did not feel like making contact with any more Jedi. Now, all he could think about was the guilt and Padme. Anakin wanted to see her again so bad; it was like an infection that would not go away. He took out a key from one of his pockets that went into an apartment. He glanced around and saw no lights on. Not wanting to disturb Padme, he silently unlocked the door and went inside.

He moved towards the stairs that led to their bedroom, but was stopped by a familiar beeping and whirring. A familiar blue and white droid rolled out, flashing its lights threateningly. Anakin was not disturbed- in fact he was glad that Artoo was doing his job of protecting Padme. The gold plated form of C-3P0 came rushing out of the kitchen towards R2-D2. By now, the small droid had stopped beeping threats and gave a tweet of greeting. C-3P0 nodded to the Jedi.

"Oh, Master Annie," said C-3P0, "pleasure to see you again."

Anakin nodded in reply. Seeing a light come on in Padme's bedroom, he moved around Threepio and into the living room, seeing a familiar figure come towards him. He smiled, relief coming to him from the events of before, though he realized that he was still trembling slightly and panting. He was still shaken from the events of before- and from having to reveal this to Padme, for he knew she was bound to notice something.

His eyes took in his wife, as if seeing her for the first time. In fact, it had been a little less than a month since they had last seen each other, but it felt like an eternity to Anakin. Her facial features were the same as always: sensitive and caring. Her brown eyes were deep and reflected her exact feelings at the moment. Right now they showed relief, love, and worry. Her hair was not done in a style, but let down casually for sleep, slightly tousled. It cascaded around her shoulders down to her waist. The only thing different than when Anakin first saw her years ago was that her stomach was larger from the growing pregnancy.

She sighed in relief and came towards him, throwing herself in his arms. He embraced her lightly, resting his head upon the crown of her head, breathing deeply and also trying to calm himself so he would not worry Padme. As she pressed against him, he felt a movement near his waist. He smiled, releasing her and backing up, laying a hand upon her rounded belly. A hard kick greeted him. He chuckled, relieved that for a while he would be distracted for some time. His hand remained there and another kick came- Padme jumped, giggling.

"He knows who his father is," said his wife, smiling.

"What do you want to name it?" he asked, not letting Padme ask how he had been.

"We've discussed this before," she said indignantly, putting her hands on her hips. "I want to name _him_ Luke."

Anakin laughed again. "What makes you so sure it's a _he? _By how hard it kicks I'm sure it's a s_he."_

Padme laughed. "I call it female intuition," she said with a twinkle in her eye, "But just to suit you, if it's a girl, what do you think about Leia?"

Anakin nodded, putting his hands up in a gesture of defeat. "Satisfied." He moved forward and embraced her once more, closing his eyes.

"Where were you for so long?" came Padme's voice, muffled by his shirt. "I thought that I saw you near the Jedi Temple earlier today."

Immediately, Anakin tensed, dreading to answer this question. His breathing became heavy once more, but he tried to calm himself to not reveal anything to Padme. He could not bear to tell her that he had actually killed someone, an ally, and had come very close to joining the Dark Side. He shifted uncomfortably, and she pulled away, looking at him. Anakin averted his gaze towards the window.

"What's wrong?" she asked, voice rising slightly.

"Nothing," said Anakin a little too quickly.

Padme reached up, cupping his chin in her hand and turning his head until he looked her fully in the eyes.

"What happened?"

Anakin was silent, wondering what to do, but realized that they had promised not to keep themselves wrapped up in a lie.

"Master Windu is dead," he informed her finally, a lump in his throat.

"Oh my goodness… how did it happen?"

Anakin winced inwardly. Unable to meet her gaze anymore, he parted, turning his back to her and walking towards the balcony, leaning against the railing, head in his hands. He heard Padme move beside him- felt her staring at him.

"Anakin?" she questioned, obviously worried.

"I technically…well… the Chancellor- I-killed him," he stuttered, feeling the tears that he had not shed since killing those Tuskan Raiders so long ago come upon him.

"What?"

"The Chancellor-"

"Wait- why do you keep talking about Palapatine?" she asked.

Anakin shook his head, then finally turned and looked at her. "He's Darth Sideous. The Sith Lord."

Padme still looked confused. "What do you mean 'I killed him'?"

Anakin backed away, going inside once more. He ran a hand nervously through his hair, trying to regain control over himself. He knew that he was probably scaring her.

"I thought he was going to help me," he finally told her. "I cut away Mace's lightsaber and that gave Palapatine the full advantage and he killed him. I finally realized he was truly…"

"Help you?" prompted Padme.

"Help me save you, protect you."

Her face showed that she was feeling slightly irritated at him. She shook her head, grasping his hand.

"Remember what I told you?" she asked, "My exact words were 'I will not die in childbirth.' And a promise is a promise Ani."

She leaned forward as he did, brushing her lips against his. He kissed her firmly, then parted, walking towards the entrance.

"We'll talk more about this tomorrow," she said.

"I need to contact Obi-Wan, " he said as R2-D2 rolled forwards. Artoo beeped in reply and raised his little satellite, contacting Kenobi. Anakin backed away so the droid could scan his image for the message hologram.

((A/N: Ok, I'm sorry that I can't remember the movie word for word, but I think I got some scenes pretty close. This is a slow opener, but it will develop with time. And yeah, pretty much he is not on the Dark Side anymore, but plots are swirling in my head. Ick, I do not like this chapter that much, I may rewrite it later. I included all the little fluff details for those who like that sort of thing. Who knows? The second chapter will pick up the pace a little bit.))

And as always:

_**PLEASE REVIEW!**_


	2. Chapter 2

Hey y'all! I think that this may be the last time I update this story for about a week. Maybe I'll squeeze in one more chapter, it just depends. I'll be gone for the whole week next week and I won't be back until Saturday (June 11th) But even then I might get back late and won't be able to post. Of course, you people can wait, right? Lol. So… how's y'all like the last chapter? It was kind of slow starting, but at least this chapter will clear things up a little.

Thanks to: (list names of reviewers) you people are so nice for leaving reviews!

**Disclaimer:** Nope, nope… but I wish. This world all belongs to George Lucas, but the plot and any characters I may add are mine. (Can'tbelievewehavetodothisstupidthingit'sveryobvious!)

* * *

Anakin stood back on the balcony of the apartment. Artoo raised a little satellite and proceeded to scan him to a hologram.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi," said Anakin, louder than normal in order to be heard over the frequency, "Do you copy?"

He waited for a few moments, waiting for a reply from his Master. As he waited, Padme looked on from the inside, leaning against the wall. Suddenly there was a replying blip from Artoo and Anakin heard the static reply.

"Anakin?" said Obi-Wan. There was no reply hologram, so Anakin concluded that he must be on a ship somewhere.

"Yes, Master," he replied, hoping that the other Jedi was not too far away.

"What is it?" asked Obi-Wan, sounding somewhat worried. Anakin had told the Council earlier that day about the Chancellor's betrayal.

"Palapatine-" began Anakin.

"Wait," interrupted Obi-Wan, "Someone may be able to listen into our conversation. Let's meet somewhere safer."

Anakin was slightly confused. Who would be able to listen in on a private transmit?

"I was planning to meet with Senator Amidala about this matter," continued Kenobi, "Would there be fine?"

"Yes," agreed Anakin. He signed off. Artoo beeped in consent and withdrew the satellite, rolling away.

Anakin gazed out at the night on Corusantm leaning against the railing. Starships of various shapes and sizes whizzed through the night, headlights twinkling and the occasional beep of a horn coming from a disgruntled driver. He could see in the distance the round building of the Senate. He shivered once, still shaken from the events a few hours before. His eyes drifted to the Jedi Temple, guilt settling in the pit of his stomach. Another Jedi was lost. How many more would die before these little battles ended and the Sith were exterminated from the galaxy? Anakin hated death, despised it ever since those close around him, starting with Qui-Gon, passed away.

A pair of headlights caught his attention. He focused upon them and saw that it was Obi-Wan coming towards the apartment. He parked his speeder beside Anakin's and got out, waving a hand at his droid. Padme walked out to meet them both. Anakin saw that she had changed clothes. She was in a looser outfit that hid her pregnancy. So far, only she and Anakin knew about it. And they wanted to keep it that way.

Padme mainly wanted to do it for Anakin's sake, since he would be expelled from the Jedi order if it were found out. Anakin also wanted to keep it quiet for Padme's sake. If no one knew it was their baby and that they were married, she would be most likely shunned for being pregnant out of wedlock. But it was getting increasingly harder to hide as the months went along.

Anakin walked to meet Obi-Wan. Padme invited them inside- Anakin as well to make it seem that he had just arrived. Anakin had a little smile as he hugged her in "greeting". Kenobi did the same. The group went into the living room, Padme wandering off to the kitchen. Anakin sat on the couch, Obi-Wan in a chair and moments later Padme came out with a small bit of food and drinks. A wry smile upon his face, Anakin thought back to the time he had visited Padme's family on Naboo and her mother had been forcing him to eat out of hospitality. It seemed that Padme took after her in more ways than one.

"Now," began Obi-Wan, "What is it that you were trying to tell me about the Chancellor?"

Anakin shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm positive that Palpatine is the Sith Lord, Darth Sideous," informed Anakin. Obi-Wan nodded slowly, as if this were old news to him. "And…" continued Anakin, "Master Mace Windu- is well… one with the Force now."

Anakin broke off, unable to say any more. Padme stood behind him, laying a steady hand upon his shoulder. Obi-Wan seemed just as shaken, but not for the same reason Anakin was.

"A great loss to the Order," said Kenobi heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose, "We will mourn him deeply. How did it happen?"

Anakin caught his breath, not wanting to continue and tell what exactly happened. He told what happened, carefully evading the parts where he had distracted the late Jedi Master. Both were in silence for a few moments. Obi-Wan turned to Padme.

"I have come here to discuss a few things with you, Senator Amidala," he said to Padme.

Padme nodded and moved around the couch, sitting down in another chair. As she sat, her top cloak moved a little, revealing her bulging stomach in the dress that clinged more than the baggy cloak. Anakin's eyes flicked towards Obi-wan, whose eyebrows suddenly creased in surprise and concern. Padme quickly shifted her cloak to where it covered her baggily once more. Clearing his throat, the Master continued.

"Since Palpatine's loyalties have been revealed to you, we need a fellow comrade in the Senate who can tell us his plans. Are you up to it Milady?"

Padme nodded.

"And also, we have received reports that the Viceroy of the Trade Federation is still after you. We may need to assign another guard to you."

Anakin and Padme glanced at each other. Anakin's heart leapt with joy. This would mean that he would get to spend more time with her if he were appointed to be a bodyguard. Obi-Wan rose from his seat.

"Well Senator," he said, "we need to be going. I will be in contact with you to bring you updates on the Viceroy." He cast Anakin a meaningful look and Anakin arose as well, features falling. He wished that he could have spent more time with Padme. They said their good-byes, and Anakin went to his speeder. Obi-Wan told him to follow him to the Jedi Temple. They lifted off into the night.

They arrived at the Temple, which was almost empty for the night. They parked their spacecrafts in the hanger, and then went inside. The occasional Padawan could be seen walking around the entrance, nodding their respects to both Anakin and Obi-Wan

Obi-wan gestured for Anakin to follow him and suddenly, he found himself in the empty Jedi Council room. He folded his arms, looking condescendingly at Anakin. Anakin braced himself for what was about to come. Would he ask him about Padme? No doubt he noticed her pregnancy.

"Why did you follow Mace Windu when he gave you precise orders not to?" he asked.

Anakin slumped in relief. At least he hadn't said anything about Padme- yet. He looked to the floor, the guilt settling in again.

"I'm sorry, Master," he apologized, "I thought that he needed assistance."

"He had three other Jedi with him!" exclaimed Kenobi.

"And they all died."

"It does not matter, you disobeyed a respected Master- again! And, I have a feeling you had more involvement than you're letting on."

Anakin bit his lip. He did not want to tell Kenobi anything, but he knew that if he wanted a chance of staying on the Council, he would need to tell the truth. Obi-Wan would find out anyway about his involvement, in one way or another. He took a deep breath.

"I was confused," he began, "I thought that Palpatine could help me with… keeping those I care about alive."

"What?" asked Obi-Wan in a disbelieving tone, "You know the Sith are not to be trusted, no matter how appealing their promises sound."

"I know that now Master!" said Anakin, voice raised, "He thinks that I'm on his side now. And- well- I was thinking…"

He waited for a comment, but Kenobi made none; he just looked infuriated.

"…And I was wondering if I could be a- a- kind of- spy?" he faltered. "It would help the Jedi immensely."

Obi-Wan seemed to calm, but he still looked unsettled. Anakin could tell he was running through his offer. He hoped that he would consider it. Finally, the Master spoke.

"Yes, that would be extremely useful. It could even save you from being expelled from the Order."

I would be expelled for what happened with Mace?" he asked.

"No, you will be forgiven of that," said Obi-Wan, his anger rising once more. Anakin inwardly cringed, guessing what may come.

Kenobi turned around, sighing and gazing out the window. Anakin walked up beside him.

"I noticed Padme," he said finally, glancing at Anakin. Anakin tried to seem confused, but knew that it was to no avail. "You are the father, aren't you?"

Anakin sighed and slowly nodded, eyes glued to a little splotch on the floor.

"Foolish Padawan!" scolded Obi-wan. Anakin flinched again. It had been a long time since his Master had called him that. "Do you know what this could do to Padme, more than you?"

Anakin nodded again, still looking down at the floor. The small splotch was starting to look mighty interesting right now. But Obi-Wan ignored him and continued.

"She'll be ridiculed and shunned for immoral behavior! What were you thinking? And for you, that may have you expelled from the Jedi Order! No attachment! Damn you, how many times must I tell you this!"

He paced around the room, shaking his head as he ranted on about Anakin's behavior, about Padme's situation, their child's well being…

"We are married," informed Anakin, hoping in vain that it would make the situation better.

"Oh great, that makes it _so_ much better," said Obi-Wan sarcastically. Still, Anakin focused his whole attention on the spot on the floor. After a few moments, Kenobi's fuse seemed to have finally blown out.

"Of course, you being valuable as a spy to us may keep you in the Order."

Anakin finally looked up, hoping the ridicule was over for him. It was, and a look of concern was place upon Obi-Wan's face once more.

"I really do want to help you," he explained, "But I will need to tell the Council about this."

He must have noticed Anakin's worried look. "Do not worry, I think they'll be a little less harsh than me. We really can't afford to expel you, because Jedi are becoming increasingly rare and we need all that we can get, now that the Sith have emerged once again."

Anakin's spirit rose once again, knowing that he will get to remain a Jedi. He listened intently as Obi-Wan continued to speak, sounding like his old self once again.

"And I think I may be able to get you the position of protecting Miss Padme," he said.

"Thank you Master, " said Anakin at last. As he stood there, Obi-wan brandished him out with a wave.

"Well, you had best be doing your job right now."

Anakin grinned, bowed respectfully, then walked quickly out of the room towards the hanger, heading back to Padme.

* * *

Obi-Wan stood there for a moment, watching the receding back of his past Padawan. He was worried about all of this. Would the Council really accept his offer of a spy for attachment? This could not be a very good sign. He knew that tomorrow he would need to take it up with them- and he was not looking forward to it.

He turned suddenly, sensing another's presence within the room. He peered around the darkness, and his eyes rested upon the diminutive form of Master Yoda.

"Master, I did not notice you were here," he said, giving a nod of greeting and respect, "Did you overhear-"

"Parts, I did," he said, shuffling forward.

"Well…" prompted Obi-Wan for an answer.

"Broken the code of a Jedi, young Skywalker has," he stated, "but, as you have said, in need of insight to the Sith, we are."

Obi-Wan nodded to show that he was following.

"Make sure, "continued Yoda, "that this information remains within the confines of the Order, and leak, it does not need to. Deal with this before, we have never, so this will be a test for us and Skywalker."

He turned to leave, but glanced over his shoulder one last time.

"And especially see that the Senate does not know of the child," he said, leaving Obi-Wan alone to think. Kenobi was somewhat comforted by this, but was still disturbed in a way that he could not explain. What would be the outcome? Would Anakin remain strong and not sway towards the strong influence of the Sith?

* * *

Anakin hopped upon the speeder he had used before, grinning until the point that he knew that he looked stupid. For the moment he did not care. He had lucked out. Thank goodness Obi-Wan hadn't unleashed his wrath any longer. Even though he was angry and rebellious, Anakin knew deep inside that his old Master was trying to help him out. Now the only thing to do was to wait for the approval of the Council.

He once again "parked" by Padme's apartment and went inside. The lights were still on, so he knew that he was not disturbing her. He saw her silhouette coming towards him. She opened the door and he embraced her once again.

"Oh Anakin," she said, burying her face in his chest, "are you going to be expelled from the Jedi Order?"

"No," he reassured her, kissing her forehead, "and once again I am your protector."

She looked up at him and smiled. "That's great! You can be here now and maybe stay when the baby's born."

"I hope so," he said, "I just wanted to be here with you and make sure that you and the baby won't be harmed by anyone."

She leaned forward and kissed him, then parted and went back to her room. He gazed after her for a few moments, then went into the kitchen, getting a small snack of craylarn, a Tortilla-like chip. He walked back up and changed for bed.

Anakin went into his and Padme's room, gazing at her. She was on her side, sleeping peacefully. Light from Corusant's moon shone upon her, casting her in a beautiful, silver glow. He smiled, lightly stroking her cheek and lifting her hair off her face. He lifted the sheets and slipped into bed beside her. He turned over on his side and gathered her body to him. She shifted over in her sleep and snuggled into the curve of his body. He put his arms protectively around her, giving a contented sigh. He had been worried before about their situation, but now that was put away. And now he could overlook her protection and his child himself- be there for the two (A/N: THREE!) of them. All that he cared about now was Padme. This was meant to be; her in his arms, sleeping peacefully; an eager, almost ordinary couple excited about their firstborn. He closed his eyes, breathing becoming steady as he yielded to sleep.

* * *

A/N: Aww… another fluffy ending. This story will be kind of fluffy, but also there will be action for those who like that. And I couldn't resist putting the little THREE in there. I mean, that's true… I think this'll be the last chapter for now. Y'all will need to wait a week before it's updated, I apologize. So, please review and tell me what you think, but don't bash, as this is my first Star Wars fic!

_**PLEASE REVIEW!**_


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hey! Sorry for my absence. Well, I'm not really typing this after I have left for my trip, actually before… but I don't like posting more than one chapter at the time. I like keeping the suspense running. So really I'm typing this the Friday… well- you get what I mean! This is the part in the movie where tear the Younglings get murdered! When I first saw it I was like "OMG ANAKIN DOOOOONN'TTTT!" But he did, and I felt like crying. My friend's mom went to see the movie and she actually was crying! But you can't blame her. Of course my friend said "This isn't _too sad." _But that doesn't count b/c he doesn't think _anything's _sad. Oh well, he was the one who got me addicted to Star Wars in the first place so I forgive him-lol- . BTW, sorry for the A/N's, I just like doing them, but I will not put them in the middle of the story again, due to requests. And it's Sidious… Sidious Sidious… I've gotta remember that!

Thank you for the reviews:

**Disclaimer:** Yadee yada… If I did I'd be _really_ rich right now. I can't believe he's not making another trilogy after the Classics. That's throwing millions of mulah down the toilet. Well, it's his life… If it were me I wouldn't!

_Chapter 3:_

Anakin awoke. He regained his bearings, looking around. Light was starting to stream through the curtains. He glanced to his right and saw Padme sleeping peacefully, breathing steady and the sheets cast aside. She was restless and often knocked the linens off.

Anakin grinned and leaned over, softly kissing her forehead and leaned down, then kissed her rounded belly. He arose, tenderly pulling the sheets back up around her. Padme turned over in her sleep, no interruption. He walked silently out of the room, trying to remember why he had woken up in the first place.

Artoo's insistent bleeping came to him, and he saw the droid rolling up the hallway, followed closely by C-3P0. Threepio stopped before him.

"Master Anakin," he said, "Artoo says that he has received a message from a Chancellor Palpatine.'

Anakin started, surprised that he was expected so soon to do something for the Sith Lord. He told the little droid to replay the message. Palpatine's holographic image appeared, hooded and menacing.

"Come to me immediately in order to organize 'Order 66'," he commanded. Then, just as soon as his image appeared it disappeared.

Anakin ran a hand through his hair, stressed about this matter. He turned around as he heard the sound of Padme coming. She looked at him quizzically.

"What is it?" she asked, noticing Artoo beeping and Anakin seeming to be stressed.

He stood, staring at her for a moment, then turned on his heel, exiting the apartment.

"I need to go," he told her, "I'll be back soon. Do not leave the house no matter what; just for safety reasons…"

Padme gave a half-hearted good-by as Anakin turned around and mounted his speeder, flying towards the Senate building. When he entered the doors, he could not surpress a shiver. The last time he was here, many had died. Would it be the same way today? He rode up the elevator to the topmost floor. The Chancellor was waiting for him as the door slid open. Anakin could not bear to look him straight in the features for more than a few seconds. Palpatine's true self was now showing- the hideous facial features and the crafty smile which seemed a permanent fixture.

"Darth Vader," he addressed to Anakin, "There are one-hundred Clone Troopers awaiting my command at order 66 and seeking your help. The plans are for this infantry to storm the Jedi Temple, getting rid of the enemies that stand in our way. Others across the galaxy also will follow the order to exterminate the remnants on other systems."

Even this was slightly shocking for Anakin, he was halfway expecting this to happen. All that really stood in the Chancellor's way of succeeding to full power was the Jedi Order. If they were exterminated, then the defenses of the Republic were dramatically lowered. Still remembering to play his part, Anakin nodded to show he was following.

"And what is my involvement to be, Master?" he asked.

"You will assist the Clone Army in their siege of the Temple- leading them inside," he explained in his raspy voice.

"When do I need to begin?" questioned Anakin, searching through the Sith Lord's words for one shred of a loophole in the plan. Maybe time could help.

"Right now," replied Sidious, "The army is outside, ready."

Anakin's heart sank. He gave a short bow and moved towards the exit. He was about to enter the elevator when Sidious's words followed him.

"And please try to do this as we discussed," he warned, "no trying to rebel, as I know it is in your nature."

Anakin nodded again and the doors slid shut behind him. In the elevator, he leaned against the walls, gathering himself. Darth Sidious could probably sense his anger. There was no fear, just unease. He needed to relax, for the Sith Lord could sense his feelings through the Force. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, body becoming less tense. He reached into the Force, finding Padme's presence in it. As he said before a long time ago, her being in the Force and around him was soothing. Immediately he relaxed, opening his eyes just as the doors opened.

On the hanger, he saw many star ships running, awaiting passengers. Groups of Clone Troopers were drilling, their formations perfect and aligned. A commander, recognizable by the yellow upon his arm, walked forward towards Anakin.

"We are here on the orders of the Chancellor," he informed. "We have already been told what to exercise. We just need your help gaining access and assistance with any Jedi that try to rebel."

Anakin inclined his head and turned without a glance towards his spacecraft in the hanger. The army turned on a dime and parted, loading onto the star ships. Anakin lifted off, hearing the spaceships behind him do the same, following him. While he flew towards the temple, his mind was running with ways to prevent this. He could not make a warning transmission, for it would be caught. HE could not part away, for that would be dangerous and they would eventually find him. Before he knew it, the spires of the Jedi Temple came into view. Anakin's stomach squirmed unpleasantly; he was not ready.

They landed at the entrance, filing out and forming ranks. Anakin laid a hand upon the lightsaber at his belt, not reassured by its presence at all. There probably were not many Jedi at the Temple today. Yoda was on Kashyyyk, helping the Wookies. Mace was dead and Obi-Wan was away on buiseness as well, so that left a few Jedi who were probably meditating and instructing the Younglings and Padawans. He put on his hood and entered.

He looked around, not seeing anyone for a few moments. A young Padawan suddenly came up to him, looking behind Anakin's shoulder and a befuddled expression on his face.

"What is the Army of the Republic doing here, Master Skywalker?" he questioned. Many Padawans called him a Master even though he was not because he was already on the Jedi Council.

Anakin stood there for a moment, no reply made because he was unsure on what to do. The Clone Army suddenly took over the problem. A blaster gun went off and Anakin instinctively dodged aside, feeling the energy whiz over his shoulder. It made contact with the young, eleven-year old's chest. Anakin saw an expression of surprise upon his features as the boy fell back, hitting the floor. Anakin stared, rooted to the spot. Minutes seemed to last for eternity as he gazed into the Padawan's stare, the light of life extinguished in them.

Three Jedi suddenly rushed into the great hall of the temple, their lightsabers ignited. Anakin drew forth his and lighted it as well. The Jedi Knights stopped, eyes flying between Anakin, the Clones, and the dead Padawan upon the ground. For a moment, no one reacted, waiting with baited breath.

The Clones immediately burst into action, firing at the Jedi. The Jedi deflected them, causing the light to bounce around the hall before they extinguished. Anakin's mind was whirring, trying to think of a way out of this without getting anyone hurt or killed. And that hope was failing quickly. At his right, one Jedi fell to the ground as a laser from the blaster rifle hit him in the head. Anakin backed away, but the multitude of Clones pushed him forward. He ignited his lightsaber once again and charged forward, flourishing his weapon more than necessary so as to fool the Troopers. Immediately, one he recognized as Kai-Adi-Mundi met him with a wrath of betrayal in his eyes. He blocked his upward attack and leaned forward to where he could talk to the other Jedi.

"I'm gonna get us out of this, Master Mundi," he said hurridly, "Just act like you're fighting me for the moment."

The other looked at him quizzically and then nodded, sparring with Anakin. Slowly, others began to join, but not many. Anakin wished that more were here. As he 'dueled' with the other, a two Clones came beside him. He shook his head, but one fired and hit Mundi in the leg. He gasped and leaned over. Anakin stopped and looked at him with concern, but a small dedenator went off, blasting him forward. He fell to the ground, lightsaber hitting something and coming out of his grasp. He jumped up and looked around for his lightsaber, and saw it standing akwardly. He ran over and saw it sticking out of Mundi's side. He gasped and kneeled beside him, forgetting the battle around him. He gently pulled it out and snuffed the light, muttering "I'm sorry," over and over again.

Mundi shook his head. "No," he said in a low, shaky voice. "Younglings are here. Help them."

He fell back and knew no more.

Anakin stood slowly, lip quivering in a snarl. As he gazed around, all the other Jedi had fallen, the Clone Troopers checking for any other signs of life. The commander came up to him.

"We need to inspect every inch to see whether all are dead," he said, "We need you to look around as well and inform us if any are hiding."

Anakin nodded, walking briskly up the stairs. He did not know where he was going, but closed his eyes and contacted the Force once more, letting it guide him around. He sensed other's presence- young presence. Eyes snapped open as his pace was raised to a jog, the feeling guiding him towards the Council room. He opened the doors and burst in, eyes darting around the dark room. Nothing came to him at first, but then about a dozen small forms timidly came up to him. They were all Younglings, the oldest being about seven. The ages ranged from four to the largest one, who was about seven or eight. He came forward. Anakin could see that he was trembling and his voice was equally shaky.

"Master Skywalker," he babbled, "There are too many- we can't- I mean- fight"-

Anakin raised a finger to his lips.

"I don't know what exactly to do, but I'm figuring it out as I go along," he reassured them, knowing that you shouldn't say_ I'm not sure_ to a kid. He was titled 'The Hero with No Fear' to them, and it looked like he was not acting the part as of now.

Suddenly, a crash came to Anakin. He turned, seeing about twenty Clones at the entrance to the door. He drew out his lightsaber, but they mistook his intentions.

"Good," the commander said, "You've found them."

All twenty of the soldiers pelted them with fire. Anakin jerked over, trying to block but was shot in the hand by a ricoshaying beam before he could do anything. Luckily, it was his mechanical one. When he looked up, all the Younglings were collapsed upon the ground. The clones turned away and marched out of the room, leaving Anakin alone in the middle of the carnage. He stared at the little ones all lying around him, and felt emotion well in him. These were all younger than even, some still considered toddlers. They were someone's…_ child…_

Anakin's thoughs flew towards Padme, and his child safe in her womb. Already he was attached to his baby, and he could not imagine what the parents would feel when they learned of their child's fate. He leaned over and respectfully touched one on the forehead, turning and exiting the room. But as he was about to exit the door, the smallest sound came to him, like the coo of a dove. He whipped around and scanned the Council room, searching for the source. There it was again.

He weaved between the bodies of the Younglings, hearing the small moan once more. There was the tiniest movement below him to his right. He crouched over a little four year old, the seemingly youngest one there. Her eyes were closed, but suddenly they opened, a brilliant green.

"Oh shit," he breathed, seeing she was alive. Barely. Her left arm jutted out at an odd angle, a large open wound in it and white sticking out that made Anakin nauseated. Her side was also wounded, as was her leg. She moaned again, lips moving as she tried to talk.

"Hush," he said softly, trying to figure out what to do.

No noise came from the floor below, and he concluded that the army had already left. He gently put his arms around the small girl, and as he lifted her from the ground, her groan peaked to a sharp yelp before she sank into unconsciousness again. He held her tiny body close, reassured that she was still warm and alive as he left the room and strode towards the hanger.

Just as he thought before- the clones had already left. He went to his speeder and gently placed her in front of him, sitting behind the Youngling and lifting off, heading for the center of Couresant. He headed for Padme's apartment, landing.

She came out to meet him, face as white as a sheet. She must have seen the smoke in the distance, Anakin mused. His back was to her as he turned towards the girl on the speeder. Padme's worried voice came from behind him.

"Anakin," she said breathlessly, "Are you alright, I saw the smoke-"

"Padme," he interrupted, "I need any cloth, some water, maybe ointment. Quickly.

"What," she began, then gasped as she saw the hurt little girl in his arms.

"Oh my gosh," she breathed, "They hurt Younglings!"

Anakin made no reply but walked into their house, gently laying the girl on the couch. Padme bustled around, bringing out some bandages and ointment she had in cupboards. Anakin moved aside as she started to doctor her in the best way she could. Anakin saw her grimace as she observed the girls arm.

"We need a doctor," she stated, shaking her head. "I can't do anything."

Anakin ran a hand through his hair, wondering what to do. If he took her to a hospital, most likely they would be swarming with allies of Palpatine and would see that she was a Padawan. Was there someone who could help?

C-3P0 came out, followed by R2D2 and stopped.

"Oh my goodness," he exclaimed. "She needs maintenance."

Anakin nodded in an annoyed way, wondering how they could give her "maintenance" without arousing suspicion.

"I have a friend we could contact in Courusant," Threepio stated. "He is a maintenance droid, M-6P2. He helps humans as well as droids."

Anakin nodded. "We'll take that."

R2D2 beeped and whirred, Threepio standing in front of him and sending out a hologram message. They waited anxiously, the girl stirring somewhat and breathing harshly. Padme cleaned her wounds in the best way she could. Finally, the sound of a spacecraft came towards them, a droid perched atop. He had a case with him, hopefully filled with _human_ doctoring as Threepio had told him. He greeted Threepio and moved towards the little girl who had fainted again. He shooed them out of the room.

Anakin sat down in the kitchen, but Padme paced around, twirling a strand of hair around her finger, a sign she was worried. Anakin stood and walked over to her.

"Ani," she said, "I can't believe- I mean, what do the parents feel? What if that was our-"

"I know," replied Anakin, "I was thinking that too."

He embraced Padme, giving her words of comfort. Finally, M-6P2 came.

"She will live," he informed them, "Thought the damage to her side and arm was severe. I have left pain medication with her, but give it to her only once a day since she is so young. Contact me if anything changes."

With that he left them. Anakin walked over and observed the Youngling once more. She was sleeping peacefully, but as he approached, she started and bolted up, panting and a scream coming from her. Padme rushed forward.

"Shush," she comforted, putting her arms around the little girl, "You're safe."

When the girl had calmed, Anakin came forward. "What's your name?" he asked, wondering if he knew the parents.

"Carmana Kenobi," she said.

"What?" asked Anakin, startled.


	4. Chapter 4

((Ick. Y'all were right, my last chapter did suck. Yeah, the more I think about it the droid thing was stupid. Sorry, but I really wanted to get to the end, and I've learned my lesson to never hurry myself through a Star Wars fanfic. OK, I swear I will not try to hurry again, or write my fanfics on a church bus, in the middle of rowdy, caffinated teens, at 1:00 in the morning, half-awake, and distracted with all the stuff…. Yadee yada. I will go over and rewrite the chapter; the more I think about it, it really was bad. But not right now, maybe later. And I'm sorry if the sequence of events is not the same as the movie, I can't remember. But I'm convincing Dad to go with me this week, and my friend's gonna lend me the book. I wish I could buy it but my mom goes "$17 for a book! You're already pre-paying for the Harry Potter one!" And you _never_ challenge my mom, so I'm going to borrow it. Maybe I can find the script online though…))

**Disclaimer:** This is getting really old…

_Chapter 4:_

Obi-Wan Kenobi pulled himself out of the water, removing the breathing apparatus from his mouth. He leaned against the side of the embankment, gathering what strength and bearings he had left. He glanced up, seeing minor explosions in the air. At least he had gotten rid of General Grievous. Relief, glorious relief was felt at the erasing of yet another factor in the leader of the seperatist movements.

Obi-Wan began to climb out of the pit, muscles aching with exhaustion. A last glance was thrown down to the water below. He felt sympathy for the lizard-like creature that had borne him around the small planet, helping him around. So many of her kind were expiring, as were other animal races in the galaxy.

Before he knew it, he had drawn to the top of the embankment. Eyes searched around for any signs of immediate movement. Seeing none, he ran along towards the hanger silently, keeping a low profile in both an internal and physical sense. He did not need to draw attention to himself. He fine-tunes his senses to the Force, guiding himself along and letting his hearing and sight be heightened by it.

Suddenly, an immediate pain struck him down, making his knees buckle as he felt into the Force. There was a huge stab of pain in his arm, followed by similar ones in his side and leg. He quickly withdrew from the Force, puzzled at what was going on. He was not so closely linked with someone to where he could actually feel their pain at the exact moment. He stood up, shocked, then moved on towards his spacecraft once more. Curious, he let his feelings flow through the Force again. Nothing. That was even more disturbing than before. Was the person he was sharing feelings with in trouble? Dead, possibly? No, not dead, for he could still feel their faint presence in the Force. Suddenly, he felt a sense of consciousness again, followed by relief and fear, along with the pain again. What was going on?

Disturbed, he silently moved towards his aircraft, seeing some clonetroopers still hanging around. He slipped into the cockpit, starting the engine. The Clones whipped around, seeing him lifting off. They fired their weapons at the ship, but narrowly missed. He sharply pulled away from the planet, heading towards Couresant to inform the Council of his discoveries of a base on Mustafar. He guided the craft into the stars, leaping into hyperspace.

Finally, Couresant came into sight. Obi-Wan directed the craft towards the center, near the Jedi Temple. His heart dropped at the sight.

The Temple was a solitary form, smoke emitting from it. He stopped and the landing and immediately got out, jogging inside. No one went up to meet him as they usually did. Gaze swept around the great halls of the temple, shock placed there. Eyes rested upon a small form in the center of bodies. There were bodies strewn everywhere, both Clone Troopers and Jedi Knights. He kneeled beside the form of the young Padawan Anakin had seen die before his eyes a short time earlier.

_My god,_ he thought, _not even the Younglings escaped this massacre. _

The familiar shuffle of feet and the tap of a cane upon the stone floors interrupted him in his musings.

"This carnage," said Yoda, coming to stand beside Obi-Wan, "terrible. Happened all across the galaxy, it did."

At these words, dread suddenly rose within Obi-Wan. What happened to Anakin? Surely he was caught up in this too.

"Your fears take no base," informed Yoda, "Young Skywalker is fine."

"Does this mean-" Obi-Wan began, but the impact of the thought was far too much for him to handle.

"Yes," finished Yoda for him, "The last members of the Jedi order you, me, and Skywalker are." With this said, Yoda turned away. Kenobi could see he was just as much upset as he was. But there was one question sticking to the back of his mind. Who, even a very shrewd politician, could bring themselves to kill children? As soon as he thought that, Obi-Wan knew the answer. The Sith Lord, Sidious. The very one Anakin was spying on. But for who would this succeed now? The Republic surely was going to crumble without the influence of Jedi. There was not one person that the Senate as a whole would listen to in a matter such as this. Unless…

"Master," said Obi-Wan suddenly. "I must take my leave. I think there is one way to prevent this, and I will find out if they're up to it."

Yoda nodded his approval, semi-knowing what Obi-Wan was doing. Kenobi rushed out of the Temple and into the hanger, lifting off and guiding his craft to the place of the one person the Senate as a whole, even Palpatine, respected.

Senator Padme Amidala

Anakin continued to stare at the young Padawan resting on the couch. He kept on repeating her name in his head over and over again- particularly the surname.

Carmana Kenobi… 

What in the world was that supposed to mean? Kenobi was not that common of a name in the galaxy, so she must be related of some sort. Cousin, niece maybe? Come to think of it, Anakin realized that he had never asked Obi-Wan of his family. The more he looked at the girl, the more he noticed the similarities between her and Obi-Wan. Her facial shape was the same, showing strictness yet had the animation of a young one. Her hair was the same mixture of red, blond and brown. The only feature that was different was her eyes. The bright green that always portrayed emotions clearly, unlike the shrouded mystery of Obi-Wan's cloudy blue eyes.

Padme was still sitting beside Anakin when she tapped him on the shoulder.

"What do you think is going on?" she asked, "Who is she?"

Anakin shook his head, just as equally confused. Yes, who was Carmana Kenobi? He could ask her, but she was asleep right now from the medication. He glanced outside at the setting sun. Red, very red. Of course it was, blood had been spilt that day. The impending drone of an oncoming engine brought him out of his thoughts. Ah, just the person he wanted to speak with.

Anakin came forward, opening the door to the apartment. Obi-Wan had a ragged appearance, as if he had been through a tough situation. Even though Anakin knew he had probably been through something, but pushed that away as he came forward. He wanted to know what was going on and who this Youngling was, and he wanted to know it now. Obi-Wan came forward, shaking his head.

"Anakin, what happened at the temple?" he asked, going into a tirade of questions, "It was from Palpatine, wasn't it? Why didn't you contact anyone? Did you go down to the Temple?"

Anakin folded his arms. "If I answer your questions, please answer one of mine." His tone was unwavering. Obi-wan looked at him quizzically, wondering what was going on in Anakin's mind. He never could know what exactly was going on in that turmoil of mystery that was Anakin's mind. Anakin began to answer.

"I could not stop it," he told Obi-Wan, "I wanted to contact someone… but there wasn't enough time."

He paused and raised an eyebrow.

"Can I ask _you _a question now?_" _he asked, voice laced with sarcasm.

Obi-Wan sighed and nodded.

"Does the name Carmana _Kenobi_ have any affect on you, Master?"

Obi-Wan instantly paled, stepping back a few feet. It was now Anakin's turn to be confused. He did not know that this would have such a profound effect upon the Jedi Master. Obi-Wan Kenobi never became flustered and shocked beyond capability of speaking- but that was what was happening right then.

Finally, Obi-Wan made an attempt to speak. "Where did you learn that name?"

Anakin beckoned Obi-Wan inside. Padme was sitting beside the girl on the couch and stood as they came in, a concerned emotion upon her features at Obi-Wan's ghastly appearance. Kenobi's gaze was rooted towards the small girl upon the couch, not a muscle within him moving. The girl's eyes suddenly snapped open and moved towards Kenobi. When they made eye contact, Obi-Wan stumbled back, sinking upon the couch.

Obi-Wan's knees instantly became shaky when he heard the name escape from Anakin's mouth. Yes, that name did have a profound affect upon him. He moved forward as his past Padawan motioned for him to come inside. There was a small form on the couch beside Senator Amidala. He came forward a few more feet, not taking his eyes from her. How long had it been? Four, almost five years?

The girl dressed in Youngling clothes then opened her eyes, staring straight at Kenobi. Those green eyes sparked a memory from someone so long ago. At least it seemed so long ago. Those eyes… they were just like her…

Mother's… 

But how could she be here now? There was not a child- how could there be? This went against everything he had appeared to be. All would be revealed in a short time. He stepped back, suddenly frightened, breath coming in short gasps. He sank down into the chair, head in his hands. He began to rock back and forth, sobs coming forth. He had not cried in years.

The girl was still looking at him, head tilted in a way that reminded Kenobi of- no, he mustn't remember it. It was forbidden. HE broke eye contact and looked to the side, still shocked. He pounded his mind, trying to remember why he came here in the first place. That's right, the Senator. He turned to Padme, who was looking worried at Obi-Wan's flustered appearance.

"Senator," he began, voice calm once again, as if nothing had changed, "As you may have learned, turmoil has come over the Republic. As of today, The Jedi Council ceases to exist from orders of Palpatine. Since it was your representative who proposed the idea, I think the Senate will listen to you if you sponsor the idea of taking away his emergency powers."

He glanced over at Anakin, who he could tell was still curious about the reaction he had had towards the little girl. But Anakin would not be getting any answers; at least not yet. He wished Padme would say something, but instead Anakin took the liberty to speak.

"Who is Carmana, Master?" he asked bluntly.

Sith, this kid would not relent. He would not stop pestering Obi-Wan until he found out something. Well, he did not ask who she was_ exactly…_

"A- a relative I did not know lived until now," said Obi-Wan quickly.

Anakin could sense Obi-Wan was lying, but did not press the matter further. If his old master was not going to release any information, then most likely- no matter the circumstances- he never would. Anakin nodded, turning away to Padme to see her reaction towards the request Obi-Wan had made earlier.

"Yes, I'll try," she replied, "but it will have to wait until the Senate meets again in three weeks. There cannot be any emergency meeting until then, since it would look hurried and suspicious."

Anakin could see a certain fear in her eyes. It would be dangerous to propose the withdraw of powers for Chancellor Palpatine, as the Senate could all oppose it; and there was no telling what would happen afterwards. And there were no Jedi left to enforce the laws- well, almost no Jedi. That was another question he had.

"Who all is left from the attacks?" asked Anakin of Kenobi.

"Master Yoda, you, and me," responded Obi-Wan heavily, glancing down at the Youngling once more. He stared at her for the longest time, then glanced back outside.

"Speaking of Master Yoda, he is waiting for me at the Temple, and I shall tell him of your answer, Senator," he said to Padme, who nodded.

With that being said, he turned around and walked back outside, but halted, as he was about to climb into the cockpit. He turned around and stared at Carmana again, then looked at Anakin and Padme.

"Shall I take the Youngling off your hands for the moment?" he asked, almost with a pleading look in his eyes. Anakin agreed, slightly perturbed that he still did not know much about this little one and her involvement with Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan walked over and scooped the little one gently in his arms. There was a look of infinite tenderness in his eyes that to Anakin almost seemed fatherly. Obi-Wan placed the child in the cockpit and lifted off, heading towards the abandoned Temple.

Anakin stared after the spacecraft and into the darkening sky. "Well, that was very interesting," he said, a wry smile coming to his mouth. He turned around when no comment came from Padme.

She was sitting on the couch, staring straight ahead. There was a look of worry and slight fear in them. With concern, Anakin came to her side, putting an arm around her.

"What is it?" he asked, looking at her intently.

"I- I don't know," she stated, "What if the Senate denies- what if I can't-"

"Hush," he said, pulling Padme closer. She was trembling.

"I know you can do this," he reassured, "Everyone listens to you there."

"I know," she said, "but-"

"No more," said Anakin, placing a kiss on her forehead.

Padme sighed and stood up slowly. Placing a hand on her lower back, she winced.

"I'm going to bed," she announced, turning towards the stairs.

"Why?" asked Anakin. It was only just after sunset. "Are you going to eat anything?" He saw her blanch slightly.

"No," she said, "My back's been hurting me all day, and I don't think I can eat anything." Saying that, she turned around and headed up the staircase, wincing one more time at the landing before turning to her room.

Anakin sat by himself on the couch, chin in his hand as he thought. He stood, walking out on the balcony and closed his eyes, falling into a meditation. Slowly, he felt all other senses swept away as his spirit dwelled into the Force, trying to make sense of things. Would his actions today- or lack thereof- warn the chancellor of his true loyalty. Or would it pass over? There was no doubt Palpatine would suspect something in the future, possibly sooner than he thought. Thinking that, he allowed himself to immerse in the Force. A myriad of feelings from others came to meet him.

There was sadness from both Obi-Wan and Yoda. No other Jedi were present in the life of the Force. He switched and found Padme's ever-constant presence. There was immense worry there, followed by an almost equal amount of unexplained restlessness. Feeling brave enough, he found the presence of Sidious. There was satisfaction there, deep satisfaction. He also felt assurance. Then, there was nothing. Surprised, Anakin tried harder, but found nothing in response.

Suddenly, he felt a huge amount of wrath emitting from the Sith Lord, followed by failure and betrayal. The wrath changed from betrayal to awareness, and Anakin immediately withdrew; really, he was also being pushed away.

_Sith_, he thought, _Palpatine must know I'm nosing around_. And that anger… did the Sith Lord somehow know that Anakin was spying? Oh great, what would they do now? But Anakin knew he was jumping to conclusions.

He stopped meditating, and turned around and went inside. Feeling hungry, Anakin walked to the kitchen, heading for the bowl of shuura, Padme's favorite dessert fruit she always kept around. He grabbed a piece and started to eat it. Artoo suddenly rolled up. Anakin gave a frustrated groan, throwing the core of the shuura away.

"What is it?" he asked the little blue and white droid. Artoo beeped defensively, and then the satellite from him began to scan around.

_Not another message from Mr. I Think I'm So Bad,_ thought Anakin. Instead, a hologram of Obi-Wan appeared.

"We need you to dispatch for Mustafar right away Anakin," commanded the transmission of Kenobi, "We have learned startling developments from certain sources that say Chancellor Palpatine is traveling there as we speak. There were supposubly-missing plans for something deadly he and his minions wish to create. Again, meet us on the volcanic planet of Mustafar."

Great, another mission. Anakin was slightly worried that Palpatine decided not to say anything to him. Already he did not trust him. This was the shortest undercover work of all time. And he had no idea where this… what was it Mufasa planet was. Well, there was the handy map on Padme's starship. And he would have to drag her along, since she would need protection. No telling what would try to get after her if she was alone. He dreaded this more than anything else, since she was not the most pleasant person in the world to wake from a deep sleep.

HE walked up the stairs, entering their room quietly.

"Don't bother being quiet," came her tired voice, "I'm awake."

"Did you sleep at all?" asked Anakin.

"No," she said, sitting up, "The past few nights haven't given me that good of rest. So, what did you need to talk to me about?"

"We need to go to the planet of…Mufastar-Mufastta…umm…Mustafar, that's it," said Anakin.

"Why?" asked Padme.

"I don't know, Obi-Wan sent a message to me, and you're going to have to come along in order for me to protect you."

"Oh…" responded Padme, getting up with a little difficulty. "Guess I'll need to go get changed." As she was waddling along, she laughed. "The way my back hurts and how fat I feel, I must be carrying triplets."

Anakin laughed. "You've only grown more beautiful, as I said before."

She smiled and went to the bathroom, changed, and came out. They both went to the aircraft, Anakin sitting behind the controls and Padme buckling in beside him. Both C-3P0 and R2D2 followed. The craft lifted off, flying into the night sky of Couresant. As soon they were in space, Anakin typed into the controls for a map.

M-U-S-T-A-F-A-R, Anakin typed in, sounding out each syllable. A map of planetary systems spun in rotation, singling out one planet.

"There you are," muttered Anakin, buckling in. "Hold on," he told Padme. She didn't respond. He was slightly worried, knowing that space travel must be hard on a pregnant woman's body. They whipped into hyperspace, coming out when they came out in the right system. Still, they were far away from the planet- it was on the outskirts of the system. Padme's head nodded forward, eyes closed. Anakin shook her shoulder softly. She started awake.

"Sorry," she murmured, "I think I'll go to the cot in the back and sleep."

Anakin nodded and she got up, wincing and putting her hand on her lower back again as she walked slowly towards the back. Anakin continued to ride on. Suddenly, the crackling of a transmission came in.

"Anakin," said Obi-Wan's voice, "Do you copy?"

Startled they knew where he was, he responded back. "Go ahead, Obi-Wan."

"You're on your way to Mustafar?" it was more of a statement than question.

"Yes," replied Anakin, "Do you know if-" A thump in the back caught his attention. "Excuse me one moment Master, I need to check on something." He switched the controls to autopilot and headed towards the back. A moan made him increase his pace. He turned around the corner.

Padme was kneeling on the ground, gripping the bed sheets with her hand until her knuckles were white. She moaned and looked at Anakin, pain reflecting from every one of her features.

"Padme," said Anakin, rushing to her side, "Are you-" But he could say nothing, seeing her in so much pain to where she couldn't even speak to him.

"Anakin," she said after the pain had passed, "I think the baby's coming."

((A/N: Was the end a bit too rushed? Please leave your comments and I'm sorry if I didn't spell the planet right. I don't know all there is about Star Wars, since I started to become interested a few months ago…

And by the way, can someone tell me where she had the babies on RotS? Was it Alderaan?))

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	5. Chapter 5

((A/N: I'm trying to not be so snappy with the end of my fics. It seems that I'm doing that right now. And I'm sorry if I don't get the locations of certain planets right, I really don't know the details of Star Wars, but I need to watch the movie again or read the book. Grrr… Landon, hurry up! You promised to give it to me soon! That is, if you're reading this

Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapters, and I think I'll mention them now with comments if needed:

_Myotismon13,_

_Fath8252: Yeah, I know whatcha mean about dialup. I can't leave decent reviews either, so I do the same thing you do. And thanks for the review!_

_TriGemini: Answering a few of your questions. Carmana is going to have a role. Padme is having the babies so early b/c of stress from having to appear before the coucil. Stress sometimes induces labor, and plus people with twins have them early anyways. Confronting Palpatine later, there's a little plot I'm forming in my head._

_PhantomMenace, Ataris_

_Tim K'nispel: Thank you for the review! Your tips have really helped me a lot. Yes, I was partially saying Mustafar a bunch for your benefit :P lol. No harm meant. And yes, I have seen RotS once, the ending twice, but that was three weeks ago and my memory is very short term. I want to go see it tomorrow, but my Dad's pissed at me for keeping on begging him to go, and I don't have a ride to the movies. And I will read your ficcy Anything else I need to know, I'll make sure to ask ya!_

_Anakin-Padme: Wal-Mart's putting it on sale soon (even though I really hate Wal-Mart lol). And I'm flattered, thanks _

_Looby Lou: Thankies, and yeah, I felt like crying but my unsensitive friend beside me ruined it… And if you don't mind, can you tell me the sight with the script? It'll be much appreciated._

_Who am I do you know, tweets._

Whew! Wipes forehead))

**Disclaimer: **I do not think my brain is capable of coming up with all this…

_Chapter 5:_

Anakin stared at Padme, the idea of what she just said no fully registering. He grasped her shoulders, staring her straight in the eye.

"Are you sure?" he asked intensely.

She gave him an exasperated look. "I think I would know, Ani."

Anakin overlooked her sarcasm.

"I'll go tell Obi-Wan," he said, standing up. Panic filled his voice.

"But what about-" began Padme, but Anakin left. She shook her head.

"Men," she mumbled, "By the way he acts you'd think _he's_ having the baby."

Anakin slid in front of the controls again, putting a headpiece around his head so he wouldn't need to bend over to be heard audibly. "Obi-Wan," he said into the mouthpiece, "Padme's in labor."

"Oh great," came the reply, "are you sure?" His tone was a bit more worried now.

"Asked her the same question and she's sure," said Anakin, taking over the controls again.

"The situation on Mustafar can wait," Obi-Wan said, "Right now, get Padme to a hospital where she can have the baby without any danger. What planet system is near enough that would be safe?"

"I think Alderaan," said Anakin, glancing at the digital map once more, "That should be safe enough with Bail Organa there and all.

"Palpatine will remain on Mustafar for at least three days to oversee whatever their doing," informed Obi-Wan, "Yoda and I will meet you there."

Anakin signed off and flew on, stressed. Another small, barely audible moan came from the back again. He immediately switched it to autopilot again and traveled to the back to where Padme was. She was still kneeling beside the bed. He walked over to her, putting his arms around her. He gently scooped her up in his arms, taking her up front with him. Not protesting like normal, she squirmed in pain in his arms. He leaned back the chair and sat her in it. She smiled gratefully as she sat next to him.

"Where're we going?" she asked.

"Alderaan," said Anakin.

Padme nodded, gaze kept straight ahead. Anakin could see she was worried.

"Ani," she said, "I'm having it too early. It's only been about a week past eight months."

"Maybe it's ready," reassured Anakin.

Padme was about to say something, but a sharp intake of breath cut off her words. She shut her eyes tight, feebly reaching out her hand for something. Anakin reached out in return. She grasped his mechanical hand tightly, squirming somewhat. Finally the contraction ended and she relaxed once more panting. Inwardly, Anakin was full of fear. The dream kept on repeating in his mind; her calling out for him and he was not there. Her dying… With a sickly realization, he knew that he would find out if it were just a dream today. Well, tonight really.

The ride seemed to take forever. The contractions would come periodically- and with each one Anakin could see Padme was becoming tired. She had not had a good night's sleep in a week; that was not good energy wise. Each time she would look to him for comfort, clamping down hard on his hand. With amusement he realized that even if he did have feeling in the hand, it would be numb by now because she held onto it so hard. Finally, the peaceful looking planet of Alderaan loomed ahead of them. Both let out a collective sigh of relief.

The craft moved into the atmosphere, cruising over. The residence of Senator Organa loomed ahead. He landed the aircraft, and three droids went out to meet the craft.

"Stay here," Anakin said to Padme. He knew it sounded stupid, for she could not really go anywhere. He strapped his lightsaber to his belt for a precautionary measure, then went outside. With a twist of his stomach, he realized they were Republic guard droids.

"Identification, please," said one in a monotone voice.

Great, what's a name he could come up with in a short time? He remembered the name Padme and him had chosen for the boy, but what of a last name?

"Luke…Starkiller," he stuttered, amazed at the weirdness of the last name. The droid did not sense a lie, but even though it was not his name, it did not work.

"This does not compute," it droned out, "You cannot be let inside by orders of the Supreme chancellor."

_Oh great,_ thought Anakin as the other two lifted their rays as a precaution. He turned around, acting like he was going back to the ship, but in one move whipped around, igniting his lightsaber and striking two at the same time with it. He turned and faced the third one, who was calling in a built in mike: "Reinforce-" Anakin cut him off with the hum of his lightsaber as he sliced it across the droid's body. He ran towards the ship, seeing the doors slide open as other droids came out. He closed the door just in time as laser bolts bounced around.

Anakin ran to the cockpit, where Padme was still in the chair.

"We can't stay here," he told her.

She did not look at him, but started as another pain took her over. She arched her back, crying out, looking in even more pain than before. As it stopped she looked at Anakin, panic in her eyes.

"Please, we need to get somewhere," she pleaded, panting. "My water broke, the baby isn't going to wait."

Anakin's heart began to race as he tried to think of a solution, but none came. He lifted off before any more droids could pelt the spacecraft with bolts. He pulled the microphone and headphones back over his head.

"Obi-wan," he yelled, "Come in!"

"Anakin, do not go to his place of residence," came the immediate reply.

"You could've told me that sooner," said Anakin, "Found that out the hard way."

"Is Padme alright?" asked Obi-Wan.

Anakin glanced over at her. She was gripping both the arms of the chair, face pale and teeth biting her lip.

"Yes, but I don't think we can wait much longer," he said.

"We are wasting precious time," said Obi-Wan, "Go to the nearby asteroid sanctuary of Polis Massa. There is a medical facility there and we will be safe from any Republic harm."

The coordinates highlighted on the panel. Anakin steered the ship back out of the atmosphere of Alderaan, making for the coordinates. An asteroid belt loomed ahead, though not many big slabs of rock moved about. Finally, a small facility loomed ahead and he landed. He relaxed, realizing how tense he was. He opened the door and saw the form of Obi-Wan rush forward, followed by the diminutive silhouette of Yoda. The small girl Anakin and Padme helped before was also there, closely following Obi-Wan. Organa was also there. Anakin tenderly picked up Padme. She stirred in his arms, letting out another moan. Anakin felt all the muscles in her body tense as another contraction gripped her. She turned her head to his chest, grasping the front of his robes.

"Shhh…" he cooed, "It'll be alright, my Angel."

Obi-Wan was on the ramp of the landing as Anakin came forth bearing Padme.

"Get her inside, quickly, " said Organa.

Anakin strode inside, following Bail through a hallway.

"Obi-Wan may have already told you this, but we have a medical facility here," informed Organa, "It is a sort of sanctuary-slash-rest stop for any who need assistance etc.…"

The doors slid open and a medical droid was hovering around, sterilizing a table. She glanced up as they came in.

"Lower her on the table please," she commanded. Tenderly, Anakin placed her there. As soon as he let go, the droid started pushing him away. He resisted, trying to get to Padme as she let forth another groan of pain.

"Ani," she called out weakly.

"You must leave while I examine her sir," said the droid, unmoving. Bail came to his side.

"Better do as she says," he warned, "you really don't want to go against her programming."

Reluctantly, Anakin left the room. As soon as the doors closed behind him, he began to do what many expectant fathers do: Pace. For what seemed like hours when it was really minutes, he took the same route back and forth in front of the door. After about three minutes, Obi-Wan placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What?" Anakin snapped.

"Relax," said Obi-Wan, "You're making me stressed and tired just looking at you."

Anakin cracked a small smile, but continued on his same path. The dream was taking over his mind. He could not stop thinking about it. So far, all the visions he had had came true. Would this one be any different? He wanted to be at her side.

Anakin whipped around as he heard the doors slide open. The droid came out to meet him.

"You may come in now," she said.

Anakin rushed passed her and to Padme's bed, where she was laying on her side, eyes closed, but not in sleep. A privacy dome covered her from the waist down. He came to her side. She opened her eyes and smiled.

"I convinced her to let you in," she said.

The droid came to them. "I have some surprising news," she announced, "She is carrying twins."

Anakin was speechless, but Padme took over, "That's wonderful."

"By the way things are progressing," she continued, "We will have two healthy babies in about twenty minutes. I will be back shortly."

As she exited the room, Anakin called behind her, "Don't tell the others about the twins," he said with a crafty smile, "We want it to be a surprise."

"Very well," she responded and shut the door behind her.

"How do you think we-" she began, but was cut off as another pain hit her, this time worse than before. She half sat up, hunching over in pain. Distraught over what to do, Anakin sat behind her, taking her in his arms and saying encouraging things to her. She writhed around, turning her face to Anakin's chest, muffling her yell. She grasped his left hand, almost squeezing the life out of it. Anakin winced, but said nothing, knowing that that pain was _extremely_ minor compared to what she was going through. Finally, it passed and she relaxed once more. They sat there in silence for about a minute, until she tensed again, grasping his hand once more.

"Ani," she said breathlessly, "Get someone quick."

"What is it?" he asked, standing up, but not releasing her hand- well, he couldn't release her hand.

"The baby's coming," she said, arching her back and letting out a cry.

"Okay," he said hurriedly, going towards the door. He did not get very far, though, as Padme still had a hold upon his hand.

"Padme," he said, trying to pry her fingers free, "You need to let me go so I can go get the medic."

She quickly let him go, but gripped the side of the table in agony. Grimacing, he looked at his purple hand. He had no idea she was that strong. Anakin rushed to the door, wrenching it open.

"We need the medic droid, now!" he yelled into the hallway. Yoda and Obi-Wan glanced up, startled. The medic droid hovered forward, bringing towels/

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Anakin repeated what Padme had said and they came in. He came to her side, trying to reach forward with his mechanical hand, but she already had a firm hold upon his real one. The droid examined her, then glanced up. She motioned for Anakin to prop Padme's leg. He propped her knee up with his mechanical hand, wincing as she laid an even tighter hold upon his real one, cracking all his knuckles. He glanced down towards her waist, but immediately wished he hadn't done so. At the sight he began to teeter forward precariously.

"Anakin, I swear if you pass out I'm gonna kill you!" threatened Padme in a new, wrathful tone. "You got me in this position!"

Anakin Skywalker, the unofficial hero of the entire galaxy, slumped down in a faint.


	6. Chapter 6

((A/N: I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed for my last chapter, and I am quite flattered that some of you have added this story to your favorite list and alert list. I'm trying to improve my writing skills, and y'all are helping me do that by reviewing. I'm so sorry I haven't updated since the 16th! Forgive me! Oh, I wanted to tell this short, OOC story that's sort of relevant.

When I went on my youth trip last week, during the sermons we were watching movie clips. The theme for Wednesday was "what defines who you are." The pastor went into a part of the sermon that talked about how what other people can say to you have a great affect on your definition of who you are. Anywayz, we watched one clip from Napoleon Dynamite for some reason. The pastor talked about choices, then moved onto heritage. He then showed a clip from Star Wars, ESB, the part where Vader does the famous line to Luke. Well, a lot of the preps in my group say they hate Star Wars and only watch it for Anakin. (Sheesh, but I'd kinda have to agree at some point… er clears throat) My youth director never got into the Star Wars craze and never really got interested. She kind of rolled her eyes when the clip appeared, but watched anyway. The clip stops when Luke is about to fall. Suddenly, I see my youth director turn around towards me. The expression on her face was a mixture of fear, suspense and confusion. I can't believe how pale she was! Then she suddenly said to me, "Oh my gosh, does he die!" Everyone could hear her ask that from a mile around and I laughed really loud (to my embarrassment). Now, I'm gonna let her borrow the Trilogy and watch "A New Hope" at youth group sometime this month.

Okay, sorry that was a long story, but I thought it was funny and wanted to share it with ya!

Thanks to the following for reviews:

**Disclaimer:** Nope- wait, lemme check… No (crap) I own nothing; it belongs to George Lucas et cetra, et cetra… OOOOOooooo! Carmana Kenobi does belong to me though!))

_Chapter 6:_

A second droid came into the room, gave one glance at Anakin on the ground, and roughly began to drag him out of the room. He suddenly came to, trying to get his feet under him as the droid pulled him to the door. Finally he got to his feet as it pushed him out of the door.

"Wait!" he called after the medical droid, "Let me back in!"

"Stay outside," commanded the droid, swishing the doors shut in his face.

Anakin slammed a fist against the door, sliding down the metal to the floor. He ran a hand through his hair, giving a frustrated groan. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the others rush to him.

"What happened?" asked Obi-Wan.

Anakin took his time in answering, for he did not want to say that he had passed out. He kept silent.

"What did you do?" pressed Obi-Wan further.

"Nothing," snapped Anakin, "I want to go back in there to her."

"You must have done something," said Bail.

Anakin suddenly felt Obi-Wan trying to get into his mind. Feebly he tried to force him away, but he was worried about too much at the moment- plus after just fainting he did not feel all that great.

"You were unconscious," stated Obi-Wan, a smile at the corner of his lips.

Before Anakin could retaliate, the doors once again swished open. The droid who had forced him out was there.

"Miss Padme requests your presence," it said, sounding disappointed. Anakin rushed past her and into the room for a second time and the droid hovered down the hall.

Another medic droid was behind Padme, holding a bawling small form in her arms. She glanced up as Anakin came in.

"It's a boy," she said.

Anakin smiled and came forward to Padme, who was laying back. Her face was pale, brown hair clinging to her forehead and neck with sweat. He leaned over and gently kissed her forehead. She smiled as the droid hovered over, showing them the crying baby.

"Luke," she said, "Let's name the other if it's-" she was cut off as another pain gripped her. He reached forward to hold her hand, but the medic droid came forward, practically shoving the squirming bundle in Anakin's direction.

"My assistant seems to have left, but I'll need someone to hold the infant please," she commanded. Awkwardly, Anakin took the baby into his arms. Luke was red all over and squirming, flailing his arms and legs. Anakin was holding him away from him, distracted by Padme at the moment. He went to her side, and suddenly there was another small cry.

"It's a girl," said the droid, coming over to the couple and giving the baby to the exhausted Padme. She seemed to think for a moment.

"Leia," she whispered, "Luke and Leia…" Anakin saw the trace of tears come to the corners of her eyes. Disturbed at this, Anakin tried to use the Force to understand what was wrong, but the rush of feelings and thoughts was like a tidal wave, pushing him back out. She hadn't even noticed his presence in her mind; her daughter entranced her.

Suddenly aware that he was holding Luke, Anakin awkwardly tried to kneel beside her.

"Hold him closer to you," said the droid, making Anakin jump at her monotone voice, "And nod his head."

Obeying what she said, Anakin held his son closer to his chest… _his son_. It hit him with great impact. He- Anakin Skywalker- was a father. He observed the little babe, who was finally quieting in his father's arms. One minuscule hand closed around the front of Anakin's robe, his eyes slowly starting to close. With realization, Anakin saw that Luke's eyes were the exact replica of his; the same cerulean blue. He never knew that he could feel so much for one being, no two, before. He glanced over at his daughter and saw that she too was sleeping in her mother's arms. His eyes shifted back to Luke and he saw that he had nodded off.

Padme reached forward and ran a hand through Anakin's wavy hair, then lowered it to touch Luke's rosy cheek.

"I've never seen you cry with joy before," she whispered, hardly able to get above that tone she was so tired.

Anakin realized that he had the smallest of tears trailing down the side of his face. Yes, he had never been so happy.

"Do you want to show-" began Padme, but she was interrupted as a great explosion rocked the medical center.

Anakin stood up quickly, holding Luke tighter to him. The doors slid open and Obi-Wan, Yoda, Carmana, and Organa rushed in. All stared at the bundle in Anakin's arms, and, amazingly, Yoda had the smallest traces of a smile. Obi-Wan interrupted the serenity.

"We need to leave, now," he said urgently.

"What's happening?" asked Anakin.

"We do no know, though I suspect it has something to do with Palpatine. Does he have any idea where your true loyalties lie?"

"I don't know if he really knows what happened at the Temple, Master," replied Anakin, slightly disturbed.

"Please, none of this Master, just Obi-wan now."

"What are you-"

"Well, since the last Jedi occupy this room, you've been- how do you say it- promoted," he said with a hint of amusement angled with pride.

"Thank you-"

"Leave now, we must, before we endanger Miss Amidala or the children."

"Children?" repeated Bail and Obi-Wan at the same time.

"There're twins," informed Padme from the bed, where she was still laying.

"Put Padme, the twins, and Carmana on our ship," said Anakin, "And Obi-Wan and I will see what's going on." He passed Luke off to Obi-Wan as he walked over to the medical table, carefully picking up Padme, who held on tight to Leia. Organa opened the door for them and he went to the hanger, climbing into the ship. He laid her upon a cot in the back. Taking Luke from Obi-Wan, he placed him in her arms.

"I'll be back soon," he promised.

"Be careful," said Padme, trying to sit up.

"I will," said Anakin, "for now just rest." He leaned forward and brushed her lips with his own, then kissed Luke and Leia, backing out of the room.

"Where should we go?" asked Organa as Anakin closed the door, "My home is out of the question, since I've already been charged with treason by the Chancellor.

"How?" asked Obi-Wan.

"Assisting Jedi," he said grimacing.

"I don't feel safe leaving them at Courescant," said Anakin.

"What about your home planet?" asked Obi-Wan, "I am sure that Owen and Beru will not mind."

"I don't want them on that dustball," snarled Anakin.

"But it should be safe, plus it's near and I don't think that the Chancellor knows of your birthplace."

"I may have told him," said Anakin, almost with a pleading tone. He did not want his children having any memory of that place.

"It won't be for long," said Organa. Another explosion rocked the ship, and vulture droids could be seen hovering around the outside.

"Hurry we must," said Yoda.

"Fine, take them to Tatooine," said Anakin, surrendering, "C'mon Artoo."

"BLEEP blip," said the little droid as he rolled off the ramp.

"Let's go," said Obi-Wan. Anakin saw him give the smallest of fleeting glances back at the ship, where the little girl could be seen peering around the doors as the ramp came up, closing the ship. They ran towards two of the four fighters in the hanger. Artoo rolled into his little container as Anakin strapped himself in. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan searched the hanger for a droid of his own. A little, battered R4 unit rolled up, twittering somewhat slurred as he erratically came forward.

"Why is it I always get the bad ones," mumbled Obi-Wan as the unit went into it's container. They both took off.

There were familiar ships flying around, periodically dropping down and shooting laser bolts at the medic center. They were not Republic ships, but Separatists.

"They're still at it after you got Grievous?" Anakin asked incredulously.

"Nute Gunray's pride is still hurt, so I think he's still after Padme," he said.

"Did they get away fine?" asked Anakin hurriedly, searching out behind him.

"Yes," reassured Obi-Wan, "They're far into hyerspace, plus Yoda is there as protection."

Still not totally comforted, Anakin's grip tightened on the controls. Separatist ships were flying all over, some still bearing the scars of the last confrontation. Anakin could hardly believe that they were still organized after many of the leaders had died. Could Palpatine have some affect on this? But then he put that thought away, realizing that the Separatists were actually against him, and thought… He shook his head, thoroughly confused. What was Palpatine's true goal?

He had no time to ponder, unfortunately, as a laser bolt from an opposing fighter came towards him. Taking diversionary measures, he flipped away. Artoo gave a squealing alarm. Anakin glanced down at the translation screen.

/Aaaahh! We are going to get killed!\\

"No, we're fine," he said to Artoo, grinning. He heard the crackling of Obi-Wan's transmission.

"_Anakin, we need to get out of here, now! Polis Massa is lost."_

"But Mast-… Obi-Wan, we could hide somewhere and wait to see where they're off to when they finish demolishing everything. We could get them before they have a chance to hurt Padme."

"_Be careful."_ Obi-Wan could hear the anger rise in Anakin's voice. _"Don't let hate guide you. But you have a point. The only problem is that we are the only two Jedi in this portion of the galaxy, and I think we're outnumbered, if my eyes serve me right."_

Anakin just heard the last part of the message as he swerved around an asteroid and a vulture droid. HE could see that Obi-wan was right about being outnumbered. Too bad he could not somehow attach a tracking device and come back later. He enjoyed a good confrontation every now and then.

"Let's leave, now!" 

/"I agree"\\ came Artoo's message on the translation screen.

Reluctantly, Anakin guided the starfighter away from the chaos and to where Obi-Wan's was already leaving. Two blaster bolts followed as two ships broke away.

"Just a moment, Obi-Wan," said Anakin, turning around. He could never get used to saying that.

He spiraled underneath them, coming up behind. He fired on one of the ships, hitting the wing, swerving away just in time as its companion fired at him. Out of the corner of his eye, the ship careened down through space. Anakin fired at the other fighter, hitting once, but not injuring it.

"Lock on Artoo," he commanded. Artoo twittered back.

He glanced down, but remembered the Pod races and how the Force had guided him there. Avoiding opposing shots, he fired once again, causing the ship to explode. Grinning at his victory, Anakin steered back towards Obi-Wan.

"What the blazes are you doing!" 

"Sorry. I was not letting anyone know of our escape. Just wanted to make certain."

Obi-Wan made no reply, but Anakin knew he was ticked off. All the fun and games were through, and as they journeyed through space, Anakin switched the controls to Artoo to give him time to think. What were the Separatists still doing out in the heart of space? Why had they not dispersed after their general had been killed? And it seemed that Gunray would never give up until either he died, or Padme did. Anakin's stomach squirmed slightly at the thought of the latter. His mind then switched back to his family on Tatooine. Would Palpatine come after them for an apprentice? Anakin could only keep up this charade for so long. But those pessimistic thoughts were overshadowed by the birth of his children. Anakin grinned as he headed back towards Tatooine's coordinates, eager to see them again and finally not need to hide anything.

A/N: Er… my space dogfights are not that up to shape. Feel free to criticize, but as I said before, I do not know that much about the terms in Star Wars. But if the Sepratists thing confuses you, things'll start to make sense two chapters from now. And I've been making all the first few chapters lighthearted, though there will be a death that's very depressing, and the next few chapters after 7 will be angsty. Oh yeah, Carmana will have a bigger role come a few chapters.

Next chapter: Anakin plays Jedi and Daddy…


	7. Chapter 7

((A/N: I think that the chapters will be updated more frequently from now on, not after a month. And sorry I have not edited the other chapters to include thank yous to everyone. Thanks for the reviews and this chapter will be lighthearted…kinda…

Whew, sorry I haven't updated. Right now I am in no state toedit this after reading the 6th HP book, so sorry if there're some mistakes. Not gonna cry, not gonna cry... But on a lighter note, I got the Episode 3 soundtrack!

**Disclaimer**: I swear nothing except the plot and my characters belong to me. So don't sue!

_Chapter 7:_

Anakin and Obi-Wan headed towards the coordinates of Tatooine. Suddenly, Anakin had an idea.

"I'll meet up with you later," he said into the speaker, taking over the controls manually.

"_What-Where are you- what are you doing?"_

"I just want to take a look at something on Courescant. I'll be at Tatooine within a few hours."

((A/N: I do not know exactly how time works in space, but let's say it'll be a few hours.))

He steered the ship towards the system that contained the capital, Artoo beeping in a confused tone. There was one thing he wanted to see. He jumped into hyperspace after setting the coordinates. Finally they came out to the familiar planet. The starfighter entered the atmosphere, descending slowly towards the location of the apartment. Seeing the familiar building, he parked and jumped out, softly walking forward since he saw no lights on in the apartment.

He pressed his ear against the side of the doors of the veranda. To his alarm, there were rustling noises coming from inside. Using the Force, he focused on the lock and guided the locking gears, unlocking the door. Silently, he slipped inside.

No one was in the living room, but furniture was overturned. Pots and pans leaked out from the kitchen. From the noise, the intruders were upstairs. Was it more of the Separatists? He drew out the lightsaber from his belt, tip-toeing further inside. No one heard him, for there was still the sounds of the burglars rummaging around upstairs.

Suddenly, there was a crash from the kitchen. Anakin jumped and ignited his lightsaber. There was a noise coming from a cupboard. Moving forward stealthily, he went to the rattling cabinet. Quickly, he threw it open, pointing his lightsaber inside. A disgruntled and alarmed Threepio looked back underneath an awkwardly placed leg. Something jammed him inside. As quietly as he could, Anakin wedged him out. Immediately, Threepio rushed into a tirade of words.

"Oh Master, thank goodness! Those wretched things forced me-"

Alarmed, Anakin jumped forward, almost tackling the protocol droid. He placed a hand over the slot that was his mouth, silencing him. But it was too late.

The intruders stopped tearing through the upstairs. Anakin glanced up and saw five clonetroopers. He was stupefied for a moment. Weren't the Separatists after Padme? Maybe these were after something else…

He released Threepio and came solidly forward, igniting his blue lightsaber. The clonetoopers each lifted a blaster gun from their belts, pointing him at Anakin.

"Why are you here?" he asked of the Clones. They made no reply. Anakin decided not to press it any farther and leapt forward.

Immediately they began to open fire upon him. He flourished his lightsaber, shielding the blows raining upon him from the lasers. He dodged around the mess that was once their living room, leaping over chairs as he tried to get closer. They continued to fire at him.

Anakin jumped up, using the Force to carry him up and forward in a forward flip on the balcony. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he slashed out at the nearest trooper, cutting him down. In one movement, he leaped closer to the others and deflected the bolts. They ricocheted around the landing, causing bits of the wall to fall down. Ducking low, he reached forward with his lightsaber and disarmed one, cutting him down as well. In one sweeping movement, he cut down two more, until finally there was one left. Seeing his position, the clonetrooper stepped back, gun raised. He fired once more at Anakin, but then turned around and retreated.

Anakin leapt up and in front of him, blocking his path. The other fired at his head, then the next second at his right hand. Anakin cried out, even though he felt no pain, but his lightsaber was snuffed and flew from his hand, the handle sizzling on the ground. He could not move his mechanical arm.

"Again?" he groaned, but then attentions were turned back to the Clone, who's position had been changed now that Anakin had no weapon, fired. Anakin used the Force and the lightsaber flew back into his left hand. It would not ignite.

Uttering a curse, he swerved around the next bolt fired at him. Contacting the Force, he placed a hold around the neck, thinking of the Clone inside the helmet. At once it began to sputter and gasp behind it. Picking him up, Anakin Force-threw him against the wall. The clonetrooper slid to the ground, unconscious.

Still infuriated about them intruding into his home, probably to cause harm, he stormed down the stairs, where Threepio was chattering behind him. A twinge of guilt was felt deep inside, but was squashed. He was defending, for that was what the Jedi were supposed to do, wasn't it? Defend the galaxy against harm? He was more alarmed at the malfunctioning of his lightsaber. It must have been the shocking of his mechanical arm that made it go haywire. He lifted his limp hand up, which was still having electricity spark from it now and then.

Anakin got into the cockpit, still thinking about what at happened, when Artoo gave an alarmed bleep. He had just started the engine when Threepio shuffled up awkwardly. Obviously Threepio had been in that cupboard for quite some time.

"Please, Master Anakin, take me!" he called out, "I don't want to be left with those horrid clones! More are bound to come…"

Sighing, Anakin got out and helped C-3P0 get in, getting in beside him. It was very uncomfortable in the one-man cockpit, for both were pressed against the side. Rolling his eyes at Threepio's complaint at this not being much better than the cupboard, he lifted off and into the starry sky.

Finally, he came to the planet he never wanted to see again. It would bring back too many memories. Tatooine…

He lowered the ship into the hot atmosphere, figuring it must be night where his stepbrother lived, since the double suns were out of sight. Finally, the round buildings and other equipment of the moisture farms came to sight. He lowered the ship next to Padme's and Obi-Wan's, leaping out. With amusement, he realized that the farmhouse would be very crowded tonight with nine people in it, plus two droids.

He stretched, back cracking from the hour-long ride on which he had to be jammed beside Threepio. The protocol droid obviously disliked the ride as well- he wouldn't shut up the whole way. Anakin had to shut him down for the remainder. He reached up and switched him back on.

"Oh my, did I dose off?" he said. Anakin helped him down, "Oh, my old residence!" As Threepio jerked forward towards his old home, Anakin made a mental note to repair him and give him an oil bath later. Artoo made twittering noises and followed them to the door. A glance was given in the distance. Just about sixty yards to his right, Anakin could see the headstone of his mother's grave. Grief and rage boiled within, but he quelled it, telling himself to not succumb to the Dark Side, as he was so close to doing before.

He walked to the round house. Before he could reach out to knock on the door, it was opened. Obi-Wan looked outside.

"Thought I heard your ship land," he said, "And where in the galaxy did you go?"

"Remember, I told you, our home on Courescant," said Anakin, "Luckily we didn't decide to send them back there. There were clonetroopers waiting there for us. The already raided the house."

"But I thought that the Separatists were after Padme."

"Investigate into this further, we must," said Yoda, shuffling up, "But for now, rest and recovery are needed."

Anakin stepped inside. Immediately, the man he recognized as Owen stepped forward. He reached out and shook Anakin's hand.

"Glad to see you again," he said, "You can stay here as long as you like, hopefully we'll be able to talk more than-…than last time…" He trailed off. Anakin understood. Beru also stepped forward, greeting him. She looked behind him and smiled as Threepio came forward, babbling on how he was so glad to see Owen and Beru again.

Anakin walked to the place where the tools were kept, hoping to fix his useless mechanical arm. He searched and found some tools. The last time he had been in the tool shed was when- no; Anakin reminded himself that he mustn't think of that now. He got out the necessary tools and set to work. Many of the circuits were singed from the blaster bolt. After about fifteen minutes, his arm was fully functional again. He would set to work on his lightsaber in the morning. He took it out and placed it beside the tools so he'd remember.

"Wondered where you wandered off to, we did," said the familiar tone of Yoda behind him.

"Fixing my arm and lightsaber, Master," he informed.

"The events at your home have cause for great alarm. Close your mind when with Sidious you must. In grave danger are we." With that he left as soon as he appeared.

Obi-Wan approached a few moments later as Anakin went towards where everyone else was. Carmana and Bail were clearing up where they had eaten; Owen was outside shutting down the evaporators. There was the trace of a grin upon his lips.

"Fourteenth time, if I'm not mistaken." He jerked his head in the direction of the lightsaber.

"I try," said Anakin. Wasn't that his reply every time?

"We'll need to stay here a few days. Once again it seems Padme's ship has malfunctioned in one way or another. There's a part we need to get soon, but it'll come in three days at the least."

"All I need, more time on this planet."

Obi-Wan shook his head. "By the way, there's still some food if you're hungry." With that he turned around, heading to talk with Organa.

Anakin was hungry, but at the moment he wanted to see his family. As if sensing this, Beru came forward and tapped him on the shoulder.

"They're resting in the extra bedroom, just down the hall," she whispered pointing. Anakin smiled his thanks and went down the passage.

He quietly opened the door and peeked inside the dark room. Padme was lying upon the bed fast asleep. Grinning, Anakin stepped inside. The babies too were on the bed, since there was no cradle for them here. He crossed the room and slowly sat beside her, lifting a hand and stroking the hair out of her beautiful face. She squinted her eyes and stirred.

"Ani?" she whispered, a soft smile coming to her lips, "I thought that you were-"

"Shhh…" he said, placing a finger over her mouth, "Go back to sleep, I'll come back in a minute after I've had some food."

She nodded and drifted back off. He rose off the bed, giving one last glance behind him and shutting the door behind him. Beru was coming down the hallway, carrying something bulky. As she got closer he saw that it was a small cradle.

"I found this in an old storage closet," she said as he took it from her, "I don't know why Father kept it, but seems to have come into use now."

"Thanks," he said, turning back around.

"They're so precious," she said, and for a fleeting moment, Anakin saw her features fall into a saddened expression. "I wish I could have that joy."

"What do you mean?" he asked, concerned.

She did not answer for a moment, then took a deep breath and glanced up at him for a moment. "I'll never be able to have children."

Anakin could think of no words of comfort as she gave him one last smile and turned around, going back to the kitchen. Turning back to the door, he juggled the cradle in one hand and opened the door once again with the other. His eyes scanned the room. Finding an empty corner, he placed the cradle in it. He saw that it had been already cleaned, and a small mattress and blanket were ready on the inside. Saying a silent thanks to Beru, he stepped to the bedroom.

Padme was on her side, Luke and Leia both asleep next to her, her hand across both. Tenderly moving her hand aside, he picked up Luke, who did not stir, and placed him in the cradle. Next came Leia. Obviously she was a _very_ light sleeper.

Immediately she began to cry. _Oh no…_ thought Anakin. She did not like her sleep interrupted and being moved from one place to another. Quickly he strode across the room, placing her beside Luke. She did not stop crying. It was going to take more than that to get her to sleep. Luke began to move about too, and Anakin heard Padme stir.

"What's wrong?" she asked tiredly. "Wait-" her voice became more alarmed, "Where's-"

"Don't worry, I've got it, just go back to bed," reassured Anakin. He bent over and picked her up again. The sudden movement made her volume become louder. Slightly panicked on what to do, he held her close, stepping out of the room so as not to wake up the rest of his family. He walked around, pacing back and forth, cooing things to her. As he glanced out into the living area, he saw that the lights were off and everyone was already off to bed. _Maybe I can get something to eat later…_

Meanwhile, he walked up and down the hallway, saying in hushed tones that everything was alright, until he was finally begging her to go to sleep.

"_Please?_ _Please_ go to sleep."

Leia had different ideas.

This was harder than Jedi duties. Yep, much harder…

Finally, exhausted, Anakin sank into the chair at the end of the hall, rocking her back and forth in his arms. It had been at least thirty minutes. Something from long ago came back to his mind. An image of Shmi sitting down on his bed after he had awoken one night, screaming from a nightmare he had materialized in his memories. She had comforted him, and hummed a little tune.

Desperate, Anakin began to softly hum, remembering how it went. Her insistent tone began to diminish somewhat. Relieved and feeling triumph approaching, he continued humming. The words began to form in his mind from when his mother used to sing it. So, he opened his mouth and softly began to sing the last portion of the popular lullaby:

"_Home again, home again,_

_to go to rest,_

_By hearth and heart,_

_By house and nest…"_

_How ironic are those words…_ he thought as he finished. A smile came to his lips as Leia closed her eyes, her tiny chest rising and falling with the rhythmic breathing of sleep. He kissed her forehead and stood, bringing her back to the room. Just as he was about to enter, a form came from the refresher across the corridor.

"I didn't mean to disturb you," said Obi-Wan, smiling. Just as Anakin turned away, cracking open the door, he thought he heard Obi-Wan say as he passed:

"I didn't know you could sing."

Carefully, he lowered Leia into the cradle beside her brother. Relieved, and not even bothering to fully change, Anakin took off the robe, shirt and boots, climbing into bed beside Padme in his pants. She did not wake. Just as he pulled the coverings over him and Padme, there was the softest of cries from the cradle in the corner. He sighed.

These are going to be some long nights… 

Hmm… trying to proofread as much as I can. By the way, what's a Beta? I may need one…

PLEASE REVIEW!


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